Clean Energy Common Sense -In her first book, Clean Energy Common Sense, NRDC President Frances Beinecke issues a plainspoken, heartfelt call to action on global warming. As Robert Redford writes in his forward, this little book -- for believers, skeptics and everyone in between -- just might help change the world.

Sustaining Life: How Human Health Depends on Biodiversity -The Earth's biodiversity-the rich variety of life on our planet-is disappearing at an alarming rate. And while many books have focused on the expected ecological consequences, or on the aesthetic, ethical, sociological, or economic dimensions of this loss, Sustaining Life is the first book to examine the full range of potential threats that diminishing biodiversity poses to human health.
Edited and written by Harvard Medical School physicians Eric Chivian and Aaron Bernstein, along with more than 100 leading scientists who contributed to writing and reviewing the book, Sustaining Life presents a comprehensive--and sobering--view of how human medicines, biomedical research, the emergence and spread of infectious diseases, and the production of food, both on land and in the oceans, depend on biodiversity.

The Value of Nothing -The next time you buy a bag of potato chips, or a chocolate bar, think for a moment about the cost.

Not just the price you're paying at that moment — a price set by the market — but the environmental and social costs, too. Author Raj Patel says that cheap, market prices let us avoid paying the true costs of things.

In his new book, The Value of Nothing, Patel points out that problems like obesity and diabetes cost millions in health care dollars.

100 Heartbeats -TV personality and conservationist Jeff Corwin has released a new book called “100 Heartbeats” covering the world’s most endangered species — and what chance, if any, we have of saving them. “From the forests slipping away beneath the stealthy paws of the Florida panther, to the giant panda’s plight to climb ever higher in the mountains of China in search of sustenance, to the brutal poaching tactics that have devastated Africa’s rhinoceros and elephant populations, Corwin takes readers on a global tour to witness firsthand the critical state of our natural world,” says the book’s jacket.Sounds uplifting, right? Thankfully, it’s not all doom and gloom as Corwin also shares stories of battles fought and won to protect species once on the brink. Said Bill McKibben of the book, “On a warming world, conservation and wildlife protection is an increasingly desperate battle. Here are the stories of some real heroes, who should move us all to real action.”

American Wasteland: How America Throws Away Nearly Half of Its Food (and What We Can Do About It) - Jonathan Bloom

What Tom Vanderbilt did for traffic and Brian Wansink did for mindless eating, Jonathan Bloom does for food waste. The topic couldn’t be timelier: As more people are going hungry while simultaneously more people are morbidly obese,American Wastelandsheds light on the history, culture, and mindset of waste while exploring the parallel eco-friendly and sustainable-food movements. As the era of unprecedented prosperity comes to an end, it’s time to reexamine our culture of excess.

Working at both a local grocery store and a major fast food chain and volunteering with a food recovery group, Bloom also interviews experts—from Brian Wansink to Alice Waters to Nobel Prize–winning economist Amartya Sen—and digs up not only why and how we waste, but, more importantly, what we can do to change our ways.

As development and subsequent habitat destruction accelerate, there are increasing pressures on wildlife populations. But there is an important and simple step toward reversing this alarming trend: Everyone with access to a patch of earth can make a significant contribution toward sustaining biodiversity.

There is an unbreakable link between native plant species and native wildlife — native insects cannot, or will not, eat alien plants. When native plants disappear, the insects disappear, impoverishing the food source for birds and other animals. In many parts of the world, habitat destruction has been so extensive that local wildlife is in crisis and may be headed toward extinction.

Bringing Nature Home has sparked a national conversation about the link between healthy local ecosystems and human well-being, and the new paperback edition — with an expanded resource section and updated photos — will help broaden the movement. By acting on Douglas Tallamy's practical recommendations, everyone can make a difference.